Life's Game
by xJokester
Summary: ShikaTema OS about war, sabotaging parents, idiots and shogi. SPOILERS for chapter 647!


_Kind of a request for a reader on the german fanfic-site: A ShikaTema-oneshot that involves the happenings of chapter 647. It sounded like fun, so I did it.^^_

_This is my attempt to translate the fanfic, hope you like it._

_Oh, and I kinda suck at gammar. Sorry for that._

Life's game

Shikamaru knew he was dying. Strangely enough, he wasn't afraid at all. In his almost seventeen years of living, he'd been terrified more often than he wanted to admit. But at this moment...he did not quite know what it was. Acceptance, maybe, fatigue and regret, in contrast to the relieve he felt as well.

He could hear Ino scream his name when his legs gave out under him, and Choji caught him before he hit the ground.

Hands were shaking him, touching his face and both his comrades begged him to stay with them. He wanted to answer but found he couldn't. His friends seemed to be so far away while his father and Asuma suddenly were so close, waiting for him on the other side.

His eyelids grew heavier and heavier. The thought of just giving in and letting the darkness take him sounded more and more appealing. He was so _tired_…His view slid over the battlefield, spotting someone he knew very well, just before his eyes closed. If he hadn't felt so weak right now, he would have laughed at the sight of her widened eyes, her horrified look that he could see even from this distance.

**You're not going to cry, are you…**

…**Temari?**

"_Shikamaru! Get up, _right now_! Do you even realize what time it is?"_

_Yoshino Nara was a terrifying woman. Every other person would have jumped at her yelling that probably could be heard until the other side of Konoha. But with time, you get used to things and after sixteen years of bearing all the nagging and shouting, Shikamaru found himself being immune. Thus, all he did was roll over and pull the blanket over his head._

_Nope, he had no idea what time it was. And he seriously gave a shit about it. It was his day off and that meant he would only move out of his bed when it was absolutely necessary._

_Well, in Yoshinos opinion it obviously was, because now the door flew open with a BANG – that made even Shikamaru flinch a little -, his mother stormed in and in the next breath she gave the blanket a violent tug. Shikamaru shuddered at the sudden cold but eventually (though reluctantly) sat up. When his mother was in one of these moods, one should not provoke her – unless one didn't care for one's health. Really, not a nice experience to witness her being _truly _mad._

_Still, he couldn't bite back a complaint. "What the hell mom? Ever heard of knocking?"_

"_Don't take that tone with me, young man!" Yoshino roared, hands on her waist. Shikamaru swallowed. Maybe he wasn't completely immune – he still found her pretty scary. "Now get ready, you've got a visitor and I don't want her to think that we didn't teach you any manners – in case she doesn't think that anyway."_

"_Her?"_

"_The Kazekage's sister. Hurry op, now, the girl had a long journey and most certainly could think of better things to do than waiting for you."_

_Shikamaru blinked, stunned, when he understood what his mother was trying to tell him. Temari was here._

_Shikamaru loved his mother deeply, he really did. This morning, though, he cursed her inwardly, since she apparently tried her best in making him look ridiculous – possibly to punish him for being both lazy and cheeky. While he was putting on his clothes – and actually hurried – she asked him (very very loudly) every five seconds if he was ready. By the time he finally left his room (ranting quietly), she was there immediately, grabbing him by the back of his collar like some naughty schoolboy and pulling him into the dining room where Temari was sitting by the table. Looking way too amused, by the way. Her broad grin made Shikamaru blush with shame._

'_Thank you very much, mom', he thought and threw an annoyed glance at his mother that only smirked and put on her You-only-got-what-you-deserved-face on._

"_Hello, Shikamaru," Temari greeted him cheerfully as if she hadn't noticed the silent war between mother and son._

"_Hi," he mumbled, not sounding really friendly. It was nothing personal. He didn't hold any grudge against Temari but the whole situation just sucked. It also didn't help that she still looked like she could burst into laughter at any moment._

_His tone of voice didn't seem to bother her. She reached for the cup of tea that was standing in front of her and took a sip. "I guess you wonder what I'm doing in Konoha, right?"_

"_I figure you're the one I shall organize the Chunin-Exams with. Tsunade told me someone from Sunagakure would come. She said, though, that it would be tomorrow."_

"_Yeah, that's right. But I was back from a mission sooner than I expected so I thought I could come over one day earlier." She looked at him, and again there was this amusement in her gaze. "However, I'm surprised that someone as lazy as you are is willing to accept such a work-intensive task."_

"_Believe me, I didn't ask for it."_

"_Whatever, now you gotta do it," Temari retorted sharply. Shikamaru fought the urge to roll his eyes. Sometimes, that girl sounded exactly like his mother. "Well…" She stood up. "Let's do this!"_

"_Man, that was exhausting!" Shikamaru laid back moaning, folding his arms behind his head. He was completely worn out; Temari hadn't allowed him a single pause. Shikamaru had tried to stand his ground and told her she couldn't order him around like that – only to fall on deaf ears. He scowled at her. Damn that relentless, ignorant woman!_

_Then again…he was quite thankful in hindsight. If he'd been on his own, he would have needed more than a week for what he'd now accomplished in one day. _

…_Not that he would tell her that._

_Either way, he was more than relieved that now he could relax. There were on the Nara-compound again, or to be precise: outside, on the terrace. _

_Temari, who was sitting right next to him, cut him a look. "Well, apparently everything's troublesome to you. Is there even anything that you don't find stressful?"_

"_Shogi."_

"_Shogi?"_

_He turned his head to look at her. "Don't tell me you don't know shogi."_

"_Of course I _heard_ about it. But I'm not too fond of those kind of games. Kankuro likes that stuff – but I definitely lack the patience for it."_

_That was undeniably true. Patience played an important role in shogi – and Temari was just as patient as she was shy._

"_Oh, that's alright. Shogi isn't everybody's cup of tea. It mean, it's not really simple, is it?" Just as those words left his lips, he regretted them. He didn't mean to actually say them. Shikamaru wasn't a argumentative person – and Temari was one of the people he wanted to mess with the least. She was just too scary sometimes. And now this…stupid, stupid, stupid._

_He paid the price immediately. "Are you _implying_ that I'm too stupid for your idiotic game?," she hissed, voice suddenly higher than before and if looks could kill, Shikamaru would have been nothing but a bloody pulp on the wooden terrace. _

"_No, of course not." Which was a lie. Although he knew she was smart._

"_Don't you dare lie to me! Listen, you and I, we're gonna play shogi now and then I'll show you that I'm intelligent enough for it."_

"_But I know that-" He interrupted himself when he saw her expression that said she tolerated no dissent. He raised his hand resignedly before stood up. "Alright, alright…why are girl always so damn sensitive?"_

_Temari definitely wasn't too dumb for shogi. Au contraire, she turned out to be a quite capable opponent. It was a welcome change for Shikamaru since he'd never won against his father once – and his friends weren't exactly keen on shogi. They've all tried it for his sake, but none of them really took pleasure in it._

_Playing against Kiba could only be decribed as a disaster since he had lost his composure at some point, which resulted in him knocking over the playboard. And Ino had let out some curses that were all but ladylike._

_The only ones that were suitable as shogi players (at least to some extent) were Sakura, Neji and Shino. All three were very clever, and Shino possessed the tranquility that Kiba obviously was lacking of. Neji, as a well known genius, wouldn't accept a defeat – even in a game – and had played with him the whole evening and night. Shikamaru had beat him every time, yet each game took longer and longer._

_Well, Temari was not as ambitious was not as ambitious as Neji was (and fortunately not as much as Lee who had vowed to run five hundred times around Konoha for each lost game). Still, she apparently tried her best to learn as fast as possible – to prove to Shikamaru that his teasing was unfounded._

_There was just one thing that went wrong whilst this game – his own arrogance. In the course of their battle of intelligence it came to a point where his king was unprotected which meant that only one specific move separated Temari from her hoped-for triumph. But she was just a rookie and couldn't possibly realize that, so Shikamaru decided he could take a risk. He would win anyways, so why bother?_

… _She wouldn't have noticed if it wasn't for Shikamaru's father._

_Shikaku Nara had just returned from a long day of work. He was tired and weary – yet still capable of ruining his son's evening (and finishing what his wife had started: embarrassing their son in front of Temari). He stepped onto the terrace and found Shikamaru and Temari sitting in front of each other; Temari was bent-forward, brow furrowed and staring at the playboard highly concentrated while Shikamaru looked utterly relaxed, smiling confidently and self-satisfied._

_Shikaku approached them curiously. Shikamaru observed how his look wandered over the playing pieces, then he let out a quiet laugh. He darted a look at his son, then turned to Temari. He_ wouldn't_…"You know, if you put your bishop over here…" He tapped on the spot he meant, "…you win and Shikamaru loses. Just saying." He winked at her. "You don't have to do it, of course."_

_Shikamaru gasped for air indignantly. "Dad! That's-"_

_Shikaku cut him short cheerfully. "There, there, Shikamaru. Don't be such a bad loser."_

_Temari laughed (diabolical, Shikamaru found), heeding Shikaku's advice._

"_Wow, thanks dad," Shikamaru muttered wryly which made his father shake his head. "Don't be offended, son," he said, unexpectedly serious. "I want you to draw a lesson from this: Don't you ever underestimate you opponent. That's what fools do." His expression softened and the corners of his mouth twitched. "You see, this game teaches you lessons for life."_

_Shikamaru said nothing. He realized that his father was right. He'd been arrogant which wasn't a nice virtue – even if it had only been about a game. Still, his defeat peeved him. He really couldn't describe himself as ambitious, but losing against a beginner…well, that was embarrassing._

"_Anyway, thanks for your help," Temari said to Shikaku. She seemed annoyingly happy. She definitely would rub Shikamaru's nose in this evening forever. "I was close to giving up."_

"_That's something else you should never do. No matter if you're in a war or just playing some shogi. You should both keep that in mind."_

_Temari did not answer. She also didn't look at Shikaku, instead, she regarded Shikamaru, her expression amazingly soft._

Temari was completely motionless. All she could do was staring at his limp body. He…no. That was impossible. He was _not _dead. He wasn't. He wouldn't bite the dust just like that. He couldn't. He _had_ to keep fighting.

'Never give up, Shikamaru,' it flashed through her mind. Her hands were trembling which startled her. She had to be strong. She always was. So why was she shaking now? 'Shikamaru. Remember your father's words. Never give up. That's what Naruto said as well, right? Shikamaru.' He thought so highly of Naruto, after all. She recalled Shikamaru talking about him while they were organizing the exams. He'd never really said it, but it occurred to her how much he liked this crazy guy's – who had even managed to change Caara – endurance. Now Shikamaru had the chance to prove that he could be just as persistent. All he had to do was open his eyes. Stand up. And live.

Her heart was pounding like mad. And loudly, she thought she could hear it. 'Get up, Shikamaru. Get up.' He had to live, that stupid, sissy, lazy, brave, brilliant, helpful, kind-hearted crybaby!

She wanted him to look at her. To talk to her, to complain that everything was too troublesome. She wanted him to roll his eyes when she told him that he could become jonin if only he weren't so lazy. She wanted him to wake up, to survive this war and to challenge her to a return shogi game.

Also her lips trembled when they formed a sad smile. 'I'd even let you win this time, Shikamaru. Just please, get up.'


End file.
